HostBridge Technical Overview

The list outlines HostBridge components and support for CICS Transaction Server, IBM System z, and services technologies. Italics indicate support added in HostBridge versions 6 and 6.5.

HostBridge Tools and Support

  • Services Types and Protocols
    • XML
    • SOAP/WSDL (formal) services
    • SOAP 1.2, via HB SOAP stack or IBM SOAP for CICS (6.1)
    • REST/RESTful (informal) services
    • XPath 2.0 (W3C-standard XML path language simplifies navigation within XML documents, interaction with nodes)
    • JSON (JavaScript Object Notation: lightweight data interchange format commonly used with ECMAScript; part of the ECMAScript standard, provides for simpler CICS interaction with Ajax/object-based web applications)
    • Atom
    • HTML
  • HostBridge Base Product
    • Prerequisite for all other HB components and features
    • Auto-converts CICS BMS applications to XML
  • HB Process Automation Engine/HBJS: JavaScript-based integration/web services, orchestration/ automation of transaction micro flows as Web services
    • Rebuilt on a new code base for v6 (HB v5 scripts still supported)
    • ECMAScript Edition 3/JavaScript 1.8
    • E4X (ECMAScript for XML), simplifies consumption and production of XML
    • Runs inside or outside of CICS
    • Runs as an Enclave SRB
  • HostBridge for zIIP (HBzIIP)
    • HB v6.5 Process Automation/HBJS running outside of CICS as an Enclave SRB
    • HBJS engine, HBJS scripts run on zIIP
    • zIIP-enabled HostBridge Base Product currently in development
  • Eclipse-Based Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
    • Includes CICS Transaction Explorer, enabling CICS application navigation/orchestration
    • Independent IDE
    • IBM Rational Application Developer plug-in
    • CICS Explorer plug-in
    Connectivity
    • HTTP Interface
    • LINK/EXCI Interface
    • MQ Interface
  • Application Access
    • CA Ideal™, CA Telon®, CA ADS™/IDMS™, CA Gener/OL™
    • Fidelity/ALLTEL
    • CSC Vantage (VIDD)
  • Data Access Modules
    • DB2
    • VSAM
    • DL/I
    • DDA for Datacom
  • Specialty Connectors
    • Pega
    • Siebel
    • IVR
    • Batch to CICS
    • eTransX
  • WIRE – HostBridge Web Interface Rules Engine
    • Supports XML from HostBridge, TN3270 from IBM mainframe
    • Rapid development/deployment of web interfaces for CICS
    • Classic, standard, enhanced modes
    • .NET facility, XSLT Stylesheets, ASP.NET custom controls, etc.
  • CICS Transaction Server v3.x/v4.x Support
    • • Terminal-oriented (visual) transactions: BMS, non-BMS, 3270, CA types
      • COMMAREA (non-visual) programs
      • Data resources: DB2, VSAM, DL/I, Datacom
      • Connectivity: HTTP, LINK/EXCI, Enhanced WebSphere MQ
      • Enhanced Multi-Region Operation (MRO)
      • Formal web services technologies: SOAP/WSDL
      • Informal web services technologies: REST, Atom, other Web 2.0
      • CICS Event Processing
      • Channels and containers
      • Link with channels
      • CICS resources: TSQueues; TDQueues; ENQ/DEQ; TWA, TCTUA, CWA, EIB, etc.; commit/rollback; many others
      • CICS Explorer
      • XML Toolkit for z/OS
      • DOM
      • XSLT (Stylesheets)
      • Validating Parser
    System z Support
    • zIIP specialty engine (HostBridge for zIIP)
    • Rational Developer for System z
    • SFM Plugin for creating invocable CICS services
  • Security
    • HostBridge leverages existing mainframe security, e.g., RACF, ACF/2, TopSecret
    • Services treatable as SAF resources (6.1)
    • SSL
    • Digital certificates
    • IP Address/Host Name inclusion/ exclusion lists (6.1)

hostbridge diagram